Mind Boggled

Chapter 40

"Huh? Nezu is a real mouse." Kirishima noted, scratching the back of his neck. Kurogiri stopped walking completely, his eyes widening in horror. "Uh oh. I have a feeling I really wasn't supposed to say that." 

"Never mind that. We'll meet you in class, Kirishima. We're supposed to meet with Hound Dog before." Harper sighed, waving him off. Dabi was trying not to laugh at the dawning horror creeping into Kurogiri's expression second by second. Being someone who enjoyed cleaning and cooking, mice, rats, and other rodents of that sort were the absolute bane of his existence. He was terrified of them, so to learn there was a giant one running Harper's school had to be nothing short of mortifying.

"Right, you got it." Kirishima gave a grin and a thumbs up. "Good luck! It'll be perfectly fine. Harper's amazing, after all. Wait, she heard me." 

"Doubt it." Harper muttered as they parted ways. Dabi had recovered from seeing Kurogiri's mug, and was now back to quietly worrying about Shoto. "Not sure what I'm expecting. I hope he doesn't know who I am. Shit, but he may even recognize the name Dabi. What am I going to do? Ask them to call me Richard?"

"Listen up, folks. Hound Dog is the best person in this dump aside from Kirishima and maybe Izuku on a good day. He's nicer than the pair of you combined, so if you hurt his feelings, I'll castrate you. He's had to deal with enough of my bullshit." Harper sighed. She valued Hound Dog as someone she could trust. He wasn't judgemental and never asked too many questions. He knew when not to push. Harper hated therapists for personal reasons-- but Hound Dog was an exception. Guidance Counselors, evidently, were okay.

"Wow, you actually like someone? I never thought I'd see the day." Dabi drawled. "Must be one hell of a guy if she doesn't have some sort aversion to him."

"I will treat him with the utmost respect." Kurogiri swore. "Unless he is an alcoholic, like Sansa. Sansa is a mother fucking asshole piece of-"

Harper tuned out of that. Kurogiri almost never cursed, even in thought, unless Sansa was involved. The pair of them still didn't get on too well. Why, she had no idea. At least maybe he'd like Hound Dog more for being a dog rather than a cat. That being said, the warp-gate user definitely could've just developed a general dislike for people with animal heads. They may have a bit of an issue if that were the case. Harper would just roll with the punches for now. No need to make baseless assumptions.

The school was quiet once people got into class. UA was a well-established school with a tough curriculum. They expected a lot from the students here, so people were usually relatively focused, especially in the business courses. They were on the first floors' general department hall, which was where Hound Dog's office was located. Kurogiri was vibrating with excitement. It was weird to see the face that went with the many thoughts and emotions the warp-gate user usually experienced. Even Dabi seemed relatively enthralled with the many motions Kurogiri's expression seemed to shift through second by second. 

"Harper!" Hound Dog popped out of his office before they could even get there, tail wagging. "I haven't really seen the pup in quite some time now! Its really got my tail wagging. I wish she'd bark my way more often."

Harper felt a little bad. Hound Dog had been a big help to her, and had also fallen victim to Endeavor's devious mind-raping ways, and she hadn't been making an effort to talk to him lately. It was hard to juggle everything at once, but she knew their small sessions together helped him feel more reassured that she wasn't actually going to spontaneously stab herself in the eye with a plastic fork in the middle of lunch due to stress. They weren't 'therapy sessions', Hound Dog swore. Just a 'healthy form of mental health care in the form of a chat.' So... therapy, pretty much. Harper appreciated the effort.